Whole Foods Market (Austin, Texas) plans to increase its efforts to reduce energy consumption company-wide by 25 percent per square foot by 2015, using wind energy, more on-site renewable energy, and aggressive green building, advanced refrigeration and transportation practices, which will also result in significant emissions reductions.
“With this combination of strategies, we intend to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent per square foot by 2015,” says Kathy Loftus, Whole Foods Market global leader, sustainable engineering. “Saving energy costs less than buying it, so we are reducing our energy appetite from both traditional and renewable sources.”
New Whole Foods stores are designed to be more energy efficient, earning the EPA’sGreenChill certification. Its Santa Barbara, Calif., store uses 45 percent less energy than a nearby store of comparable size.
As part of a Department of Energy partnership, the company has also teamed with National Renewable Energy Labs to create, test and validate design concepts that will move toward net-zero energy commercial buildings. Fifteen Whole Foods locations supplement traditional power with solar, and 30 stores have earned or are in development of LEED or Green Globes certification.